There is an increasing variety of electronic-based devices that utilize flat-screen displays. Such devices range in size from the largest flat-screen televisions to the smallest hand-held devices such as cell-phones.
In certain types of flat-screen displays, an internal light source provides the light needed to view the display. For example, in one type of liquid-crystal display, an addressable liquid-crystal display structure is backlit with an internal light source and employs crossed polarizers on either side of the structure. Other types of flat-screen displays are reflective displays (e.g., reflective liquid crystal displays) that operate without backlighting or other internal light source and instead use ambient light from an external light source, such as room light.
While reflective displays that utilize ambient light are appealing for certain applications (e.g., so-called e-book applications), these displays are not functional in a dark environment and require an internal light source. However, the internal light source should be configured to maintain the compact and planar nature of the display while also providing illumination of sufficient uniformity and intensity to make the display readable.